Realization
by harrysmom
Summary: What actually happened when Ron and Hermione went to the Chamber of Secrets?  What did Ron learn that he didn't already know?  Originally written for the  Missing Moment Challenge on RHrlove.


A.N.- I have to thank Alloy for giving me the opportunity to take his story and write it from Ron's point of view. If it weren't for him, I'd still be sitting with a blank screen and no thought of where to go and what to write about. Thanks to queenb23 for the awesome beta job. She put up with my grammatically challenged writing skills and did an amazing job.

**Realization**

By,

harrysmom

The Room of Requirement is filled with students and members of the Order. It seems to me as if everyone is running around in circles with no clear idea of what they're doing. Harry just rushed off to Merlin knows where in search of Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem and Hermione has a thoughtful look on her face as she watches him go. I can tell she's thinking because that look is different from the one she uses when she's upset or disapproves of something Harry or I have done or are going to do

It still amazes me how well I know Hermione's expressions and moods. I guess it comes from being so close to her for all those weeks in the forest…and the fact that I fancied her for so long before I admitted how I felt. Studying a person when she's not looking helps a lot. Then again, she told me that she knew I was looking. I still don't know why it took so long for us to…

"Ron? Ron, are you listening to me?"

Even though I hate that the thought of kissing her can still reduce me to a daydreaming idiot, I hope it will always be that way. I concentrate on her face and pull my thoughts back to what she's saying.

"We need to help Harry find that last Horcrux and destroy it."

She starts to walk towards the stairs.

I wonder what I can do to help. I feel like I ought to be doing something, anything at this point but going off without a plan wouldn't help. It's like playing chess, you need a strategy, a plan of attack and then out of nowhere, I realize something.

"Hermione, what good is finding a Horcrux if we don't have a way of destroying it?"

She looks at me as if I've spoken Goblin. I'm used to that. I really think that sometimes she thinks there's nothing in my head except Quidditch results and the thought of where my next meal is coming from. That's not to say that I don't think about those things on a regular basis, but I do think about other things, and this is important. So I continue, hoping that she'll follow what I'm saying.

"I think…maybe…I might know a way to destroy it."

Hermione nods and motions for me to continue. It shocks me for a moment because my ideas are not ones she usually agrees with. Swallowing, I continue, "Harry used the Basilisk fang to destroy the first Horcrux, the diary, I mean, Tom Riddle's diary."

Again, I get the look like I've spoken a language she doesn't understand and then to make it worse, she answers me in that tone that means she _knows _I'm talking out of my arse and she's humoring me.

"But the Basilisk's dead, Ron, surely the venom wouldn't still…"

Hermione actually shocks me with this comment. I mean, really, she's the one who has read every book about every magical creature there ever was and she doesn't remember the simplest thing about Basilisk venom? I look at her with the same look she just gave me, but I try to keep my tone in check as I reply, "It's a magical creature, Hermione. Its venom will always be deadly."

I can almost see the wheels turning in her brain and then a smile over takes her face, which makes my heart beat faster and my stomach flip over as she responds, "That's brilliant, Ron!"

The comment catches me off guard. It's still hard for me to accept compliments, especially from her, because I sometimes still think I'm not good enough. She can't know that though because it will start an argument about how I should think more of myself and that I'm just as good, if not better than any of my brothers, so I respond as if I think of these things every day.

"Always the tone of surprise."

She smiles again as I take her hand and start pulling her through the crowd, towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

The bathroom is strangely quiet; I don't hear Myrtle and there isn't any water dripping from the sink faucets. That will make this quicker as there is no need to explain to Myrtle what I'm going to do. Pointing my wand at the nearest basin, I yell, "_Bombasto_!" A boom reverberates through the room as the sink explodes. Water sprays everywhere and it reminds me of first year when Hermione was hiding under the sink, trying to get away from the troll.

"Ronald Weasley, what did you do to my bathroom?"

"So sorry, Myrtle, I had no choice," I answer. Grabbing Hermione's hand, we start towards the hole in the floor. Then, just as quickly, we stop.

"Bugger!"

"What is it, Ron?"

"There's no way to get back from the chamber. Last time we used Fawkes to fly us out."

We stand there for a moment, staring down at the hole as I wrack my brain, trying to come up with a solution. Then I remember Hermione still has her bag with her. I don't even know what's in it anymore; she's been collecting things since we left the Burrow all those months ago. Maybe she has a ladder or some rope. It can't hurt to ask so giving her my best, can I borrow your homework look, I say, "So what's in your bag of tricks?"

The wheels are turning again as she mentally lists _everything_ in that bag. "No rope," she sighs, "but maybe something better." Her eyes never leave my face as her hand reaches inside, and I watch her pull out my Cleansweep. I forgot we'd taken it. It's exactly what we need!

"You're absolutely brilliant! What would I do without you?"

She blushes – I _love_ when Hermione blushes, it lights up her whole face –

"If I was so brilliant, I would have remembered we had broomsticks when we were hanging onto that bloody dragon."

"You can't be the brightest witch of our age all the time. You have to give others a chance on occasion." I take the broom and command it to hover. "Still remember how?" I ask as I climb on and motion for her to get on behind me.

Hermione climbs on behind me, putting her arms around my waist, and my heart skips a beat. She presses her face to my back and my stomach flips over again. When her fingers find a cut on my stomach, they gently press against it, and I have to steel myself to pay attention to what I'm doing as we fly downward, otherwise I might just crash into the bottom of the pit.

Bringing a broom to a smooth stop is not easy when you have the girl you've fancied for four years holding onto you as if she never wants to let go. I'd like nothing more than to turn around and snog her senseless but we have work to do. A cough clears my throat and I hiss at the door to the chamber.

Nothing happens.

"Come on, Weasley," I mutter. I climb off the broom and walk towards the chamber. Taking a deep breath I concentrate and try again. Speaking Parseltongue is not easy, and I cough again before I can get the words out.

I feel Hermione come up behind me and then I hear her softly whisper in my ear, "Weasley is my king." She puts her hand on my shoulder and says, "Almost there."

When she does things like that, I feel like I can do anything. More than that, I _know_ I can do anything. I hiss loudly at the Chamber door and this time it works. The snakes start to move in a circle around the door, clicking as each latch is unlocked. I turn around to Hermione and she has a curious look on her face. "Good thing Harry talks in his sleep," I say.

Shaking her head, she rolls her eyes and replies, "I wouldn't know."

All I can think is 'I'm glad you don't.'

I wink at her, grab her hand, and lead her into the Chamber. The Basilisk's skeleton is still lying there and I can't even begin to imagine what Harry went through when he fought it. It's absolutely huge. Then again, Harry is 'the Chosen One' and that has to account for something. In his mind, I guess it's one more thing that he has to deal with. I don't envy him though, I really don't.

As Hermione steps out behind me and sees the skeleton, she voices what I have been thinking. It amazes me that she can do that…

"Goodness, Ron, it was huge. How did Harry kill this thing?"

"Luck, Gryffindor courage, and a whole lot of stubbornness I would imagine."

I walk towards the Basilisk's head and, reaching up, I carefully pull at a tooth. It comes out quite easily but the venom drips out right behind it and I have to move my arm in a swinging motion so that nothing drips onto me. It's not the easiest thing I've ever done, but after about three or four teeth, I've gotten the hang of it.

Hermione comes to the other side of the head and starts pulling at teeth from there.

"Careful!" I look at her but say nothing else.

Surprisingly enough, she doesn't argue with me.

We work in silence for a few minutes and very soon, there are a number of fangs on the floor. "Not too many; otherwise we won't be able to carry them." She nods in agreement and we collect the ones we've taken and start to put them in her bag which she left hanging on my broom.

"Ron, I think we should destroy Hufflepuff's cup right away." She pulls out her wand, points it at her bag, and says, "_Accio_ Cup!" It comes flying out of the bag and lands in her hand. She sets it on the floor and, taking a fang from the pile, raises her arm to stab the cup. "This should be easy enough…"

She has no idea what she's about to do. And I don't want her to do it.

"Hermione, it will fight you back. It will show you things…horrible things… your fears…like a Boggart only worse. Let me do it." I hold out my hand so that she'll give me the fang. I want to spare her from this. It was hard enough for me. Watching the image of Harry and her kissing is something that still haunts me. Hearing _her_ say that I would never be good enough no matter how hard I tried sticks in my mind. I can't even imagine what the Horcrux would show her. Probably something that would make her second-guess her brilliant mind and her ability to figure out impossible situations. I can't let her go through that.

"I'll do it for you."

She shakes her head. "No, Ron. I have to do this!"

She never makes it easy. Believe it or not, it's one of the things I love about her. I always have to lay it all out there for her. "Hermione, it… it showed me what I wanted most in the world, said it was impossible, that it…let me do this for you."

Again there's that defiant shake of her head. "No, Ron."

I realize I have to tell her the whole truth. "It showed me my worst fear. The thing that kept me up at night when I was away from you…and Harry. My worst fear, Hermione, isn't spiders any more…my worst fear, my very worst fear is that, that you could never want me the way I want you." I know I'm blushing because I feel my ears getting hot. I turn away for a minute so she doesn't see and then I turn back. "I hope that helps you."

She smiles a smile that lights up her whole face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

There's nothing else to do so I step back and watch. She raises her hand again and the cup starts to shake. A black liquid starts to spew from it and I can see her hesitate. The Horcrux must be showing her something. She's muttering under her breath, "I'm a witch, not a freak. I'm going to Hogwarts."

Her arm goes higher and then stops again as the color drains from her face. She shakes her head as if that would dump the vision she's seeing. "I do have friends," she whispers to things I can't see, "and you don't think I'm a nightmare. You're my best friend, my very best friend…"

I wish I could help her.

Then she sits up straight and glares at something only she can see. She looks absolutely furious but her voice is calm and clear, "I know the truth! I knew it fourth year! You can claim him all you want, Lav, but I'm not afraid of that anymore. He's mine. Always has been and always will be. You were just too blind to see it… We were too stubborn to see it." She gets quiet for a minute then laughs and yells, "Oh, shut-up Tom!" Her arm swings in a big arc and she stabs the cup with the fang. It shakes for a moment and then stops.

She looks up at me and I can see tears streaming down her cheeks, but she's smiling and something comes over me. I can't control myself. I know what I have to do. I run over to where she's kneeling and I gather her into my arms. "You were brilliant, Hermione! Absolutely the cleverest, most brilliant, most beautiful witch in the world." Before she can respond, I lean over and kiss her. She pulls back as if I startled her, but I don't let her go, I just kiss her again. This is the first time I've realized that Hermione is mine and always will be. I don't have to worry, I don't have to think that she's going to leave me for Viktor or Cormac or even Harry. Hermione Granger belongs to me just as I belong to her. It's a heady feeling, one that I would like to savor for a while, but unfortunately, there's a war going on upstairs and we're needed. So as much as I would love to stay here, I know we have to stop. I lean back and pull us both to our feet. "I can't believe it," I pause for a second to savor the next word I am going to use, "my _girlfriend_ told Voldemort to shut-up!"

She blushes and then says, "There was nothing it could scare me with, nothing that you hadn't already beaten."

"I know, but until you confronted your fears, I always had that little voice in the back of my mind. I worried Hermione. I worried that one day you would realize that I was the sidekick, the friend, the second choice."

"Ron Weasley, you're completely nutters if you think I would ever be in love with a second choice. You have _always_ been my first choice. My fear, my biggest fear was that I would never get a chance to let you know that. I wanted to say something…but it never seemed right. You gave me the courage after you were poisoned. You know if you think about it, I should really thank Romilda Vane."

She giggles at her comment and in the dim light of the chamber, she leans over and kisses me again. It's an incredible feeling and there is nothing I would like more than to stay here with her, but there is work to be done. I sigh and start towards my broom. "I'd rather stay here and snog, but if Harry's found the other Horcrux, we need to get back and help him."

"Absolutely, Ron."

She picks up the cup and I gather the rest of the fangs and put them in her bag. We walk back to my broom and climb on. My _girlfriend_ puts her arms around my waist and leans her head against my back. Through the fabric of my shirt, I can feel her lips kiss my back.

Bloody hell, that's wonderful.

A/N: If you would like to read this story from Herimione's point of view, please see .net/s/7381061/1/Eat_Slugs

:)


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